The nuts and bolts of logistics: refurbishing dusty, war-weary vehicles, planes and equipment is good business for companies like U.S. logistics.

• Position: LOGISTICS AND SERVICES

On Aug. 19, 2010, nine time zones and a world away from U.S. Logistics Inc. headquarters in Fayetteville, the end of American combat operations in Iraq meant more business opportunities in North Carolina. Thousands of Army and Marine Corps vehicles would soon return to the United States--along with the dust, dirt and damage accumulated during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

These vehicles enter the military logistics system for shipment to a maintenance and repair facility in the states, where they are readied for the next deployment and returned to their military units. Transporting and repairing vehicles and aircraft coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan is worth millions to North Carolina companies, says Bill Greuling, business development manager for the N.C. Military Business Center.

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Military logistics is challenging and demanding work, especially for a Department of Defense contractor providing direct field support for combat operations. "Because lives are at stake, this is a high-wire act with no room for failure," Greuling says. Financing also can be a major issue: Contractors aren't paid until after the work is completed, but they must buy parts when they win the contract.

If anyone understands those challenges, it's retired Army Maj. Gen. Chuck Swannack, a Winston-Salem native and president and CEO of U.S. Logistics, since 2009 a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranger International Services Group Inc. in Greenville, S.C. Most North Carolinians probably know him best as former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and deputy commander of the 18th Airborne Corps.

U.S. Logistics' primary work is maintaining, modifying and resetting wheeled and tracked vehicles. It also washes and controls corrosion for Air Force and Army aircraft. Additional services include technical staffing, base logistics, warehouse support, inventory control, program and project management and administrative and human-resources management services, primarily at military facilities.

U.S. Logistics was founded in 2001 to provide outsourced...